Blood to Blood
by Pandora of Ithilien
Summary: Patience Halliwell was looking forward to being an exchange student at Hogwarts... until she meets Phoenix Turner. Now Patty finds herself lost in an old story from her family's past that isn't as over as everyone wants to believe...
1. Discussions

Disclaimer: Charmed is not mine, HP is not mine, all OCs are mine.

_**Chapter 1 - Discussions:**_ "Piper, I swear, it won't hurt their mortal education," Leo Wyatt pleaded with his wife, Piper Halliwell.

"No? Leo, they will be at Hogwarts _for a year_. A normal school year!"

"I've been assured there's a spell that will bring their minds up to date."

"Isn't that personal gain?" Since her daughter would be the third child going, Phoebe felt entitled to jump in.

"Wand-wielder magic doesn't work that way. The power is inherently neutral, so no backlash," Leo explained. "Wyatt, Chris, and Patty would be fine."

"You know, it could be good for them, especially since that Voldemort guy's joined up

with the Source..." Paige trailed off when she realized she'd brought up the 'S' word. When the Source had first come back, he'd taken great pleasure in taunting them about last time, and the things he'd told them... well, Leo had confirmed it, once the binding the Elders had put on him snapped. Phoebe was still liable to react badly to mentions of the Source.

Just then, the three teens who were the subject of the discussion ran into the solarium. Wyatt, Christopher, and Patience Halliwell looked like what they were, three active, generally happy teenagers. What no one could see was the power the three held within them. Wyatt was the prophesied Twice-Blessed, and Chris and Patty were both Halliwells, children of Charmed Ones, and therefore powerful in their own right.

"Hey, what's up?" Wyatt asked.

"How would you three feel about a trip to Hogwarts?" Leo asked.

"Cool!" was Patty's response. She hadn't inherited much from her absent father, Jason Dean, but she had gained a love of travel. The idea of spending a year in a new place, even the wilds of Scotland, was fantastic as far as she was concerned.

"What about school?" Chris, the family academic, asked.

"Handled, apparently," Piper grumbled. She was far from sold on this.

"Well, then, let's go!" Wyatt declared. Leo looked at Phoebe and Piper. Phoebe smiled slightly and nodded.

Piper sighed, and finally said, "Fine."

* * *

"You misjudged Leo Wyatt, you know," Jazlyn Temaida Black said mildly to the man lounging in the chair on the other side of her desk. "He's one tough negotiator." This had been Dumbledore's idea, but thanks to her fount of Charmed knowledge, she'd done a lot of the talking. Said fount was sitting across from her, but for personal reasons had been kept out of the discussion.

"He never seemed to be," Cole Turner said with a shrug, "but then, people change. Even dead people." He flashed a smile at her. "So, who's he sending?"

"Well, that's the part you won't like so much. His sons, Wyatt and Chris, and their cousin, Patience. All of whom share the Halliwell name." Translation: the girl was Phoebe's. Jazlyn was good at quiet hints.

"Wonderful," he said caustically. And what would happen when they saw him, and, quite possibly, recognized him from the Book of Shadows?

"They can't do anything, you know," she pointed out. "Nor can their relatives; Dumbledore'd never let them in if he thought they planned to attack one of his teachers."

Cole said nothing, averting his gaze from Jazlyn's all-too sharp one. But that didn't stop his cousin from reading him like a book.

Jazlyn watched Cole, biting back what she wanted to say. From the day she'd first met the man whose father was a Squib relative of her grandmother's, she'd felt the connection of family, in a way she hadn't towards a blood relative since her de Chardin relatives had died. And to Jazlyn, nothing was worse than seeing a member of her family hurting in any way. But what could she say, besides what had been said long ago?

"What about Nixie?" Cole's voice was rough. "If they... if..." _They'll take her away_, was what he couldn't say. His daughter was his reason for living; he couldn't lose her. Not like he'd lost her mother.

"Nothing's going to happen," Jazlyn said, her voice firm despite her own fears. She didn't know the Halliwells, so she couldn't be sure that they wouldn't pull something like that. But she knew Nixie would never let them. "And if it did... do you really think they can hold Nixie?"

* * *

Sometimes Fred and George's Extendable Ears only made things worse. Phoenix Turner sighed as she tugged the flesh-colored string from her ear. She stared off into space for a moment before looking at her companions. Harry Potter and Alexandra Black gazed solemnly back, knowing their friend too well to push her to speak. "I don't like this," Nixie said finally, her voice low and resentful.

Alex and Harry exchanged the barest of glances, and by tacit agreement, it was Alex who spoke. "Nix, Mum's right. Nothing's going to happen."

"Easy for you to say, Axie. You don't.. .you're not... I'm not a bloody Halliwell! I'm a Turner, and that's all I _want_ to be! But they won't see it like that."

"You're also a Temaida, and an honorary Black. You can't be touched," Alex said firmly. "Not unless the Charmed Ones want to deal with the High Families." Alex might be a Gryffindor, but she understood the power her parents had because of their blood as well as Nixie, a Slytherin, did.

Harry chose this moment to chime in. "Relax, Nix. You've got a family. None of us are going to let some people who happen to share blood with you take you away. You lot got me away from the Dursleys, right?"

Nixie smiled. They were right. And so was Jazlyn. No one could hold her against her will. If the Charmed Ones tried... she wouldn't kill them, but she'd make them regret it.

A/N: OK, just so we're clear, this takes place in an AU of my Generations universe (HP). For more info on that world, the first two stories are all you need. For those who've read it, yes, Alex is basically a rewritten Ambryn in her genetics (and choice of boyfriend), but she's a very different character overall.


	2. Arrivals

Disclaimer: Charmed isn't mine, nor is Harry Potter. I lay claim only to OCs.

_**Chapter 2 - Arrivals:**_ September first came too soon in Nixie's mind. She loved school, but this year... well, she was a little concerned. Having to deal with two of her maternal cousins plus a half-sister who didn't know she existed was not a pleasant prospect.

She sighed, leaning back against the seat and turning her head to stare out the window of the Hogwarts Express. She was a Slytherin and a schemer, a girl who could think quickly and use the observations she made to get whatever she wanted, but would that be enough?

"Hey, Turner, what's with you?" The voice belonged to her fellow Slytherin, Blaise Zabini. Blaise was Alex's boyfriend, but Nixie and Blaise spent a lot of time together as well. They were the main rivals to Malfoy and Parkinson, in a house made up of complex alliances and - though few noticed - truly cutthroat politics.

"Not much, Zab. So, what are we up to this year?"

"Basic undermining, alliance forging... we're still going ahead with the integration plan, yes?" Oh, that. The plan to increase good relations between the Slytherins and the rest of the school. Blaise was one of the Rogues, a group that included Alex, Padma Patil of Ravenclaw, Stephen Cornfoot of Hufflepuff and occasionally Nixie and the Golden Trio. But aside from him, very few Slytherins had ties outside the House that weren't to a relative.

"Yeah."

"Integration's got a new meaning now, what with the newbies," Blaise said casually, sprawling in the seat across from hers.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, some Yankees, two brothers and their cousin. Their surname's..."

"Halliwell."

"Oh, you heard?"

"Yeah."

Blaise studied her intently. "You know, I know that name..."

"Yeah."

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing."

Blaise almost said something, but decided against it when he saw the hard look in Nixie's dark blue eyes. "Your choice. But we can use them, I'm thinking. Granger's showing them around, which means Weasley and Potter will be friendly with them. Maybe even Xan will. I'm thinking of playing too, make a good impression."

"Just leave me out of it."

"I can do that."

"Good. Now, what about our regular classmates?"

"Well..."

* * *

Later, Alex joined them, as did Padma and Steve. The five students talked about various things, though the war kept cropping up. Hard to ignore now, and since Voldemort now had demons at his disposal...

Nixie left the compartment when she began to feel boxed in. Walking in the corridor, she collided with a girl a year or so her junior. "Oh! Sorry, didn't mean to run into you," the girl said in an American accent.

"No problem," Nixie forced out as the girl lifted her head. The face was a younger version of the woman's in the slightly charred picture Nixie kept hidden in her trunk. (It was charred because she'd rescued it from the fire her father had tossed it into.) Nixie had studied it as a girl, comparing it to her reflection and looking for similarities. She'd found a fair few. And this girl - Patience Halliwell, she knew - seemed to notice too.

"Um, I'm Patience Halliwell. Well, Patty, no one calls me... What's your name?"

"Phoenix." And with that, Nixie walked off.

Phoenix? A 'P' name. And a resemblance... OK, she had to be losing her mind. She didn't have any British relatives, much less British relatives at Hogwarts. Right?

But she told Chris and Wyatt when she got back to their compartment. And both of her cousins thought this was interesting. "And she didn't give a last name?" Wyatt asked, frowning.

"No. She had a green badge. That's um... Slytherin."

"Oh, the sneaky house. That doesn't bode well," Wyatt commented.

"That's not fair," Chris pointed out. "_Hogwarts: A History_ says Slytherins are ambitious and cunning. Nothing wrong with that."

"True... Phoenix is an odd name, isn't it, though?" Patty asked.

"No weirder than... what was it? Draco? The kid we're supposed to avoid?" Chris remarked.

"It begins with a 'P', though, and I could swear she reminds me of someone!" But there was nothing any of them could say, because none of them had the right information.

* * *

The first years - and the exchange students - were led into the Great Hall by McGonagall. At the Gryffindor table, Alex glanced at her mother and at Cole. Neither of them seemed to react to the three teens in the line of eleven-year-olds, but Cole's refusal to look at them was a reaction in and of itself. She caught Nixie's eye from across the room, wondering what her childhood companion was thinking. But Nixie's face was as blank as her father's.

"Holy shit, is that who I think it is? Isn't he dead?" Wyatt hissed, pointing at a dark-haired man at the far end of the staff table. Patty looked at the indicated teacher... and felt herself freeze. Cole Turner. The half-demon who had been possessed by the Source, her mother's ex-husband. The man she knew Phoebe Halliwell was still - secretly - in love with. She couldn't have said how she knew, she just did.

"I think it is him, which means he's definitely not dead," she whispered.

The Sorting went, and they were called last. Chris went first, and was made a Ravenclaw. Patty and Wyatt followed, and both went to Gryffindor. Chris was slightly disappointed, but not very, as the girls he'd met earlier on the train, Padma Patil and Luna Lovegood, were very welcoming. At the Gryffindor table, Wyatt began a conversation with a boy in his year, Dean Thomas, about soccer - er, football. Patty, meanwhile, felt like someone was watching her. She looked up to see gold-flecked gray eyes studying her.

"Can I do something for you?" Patty asked.

"No," Alex replied before turning to Harry. Patty rolled her eyes, but the feeling didn't go away. She glanced at the Slytherin table and saw a pair of sapphire eyes watching. Phoenix.

"Who's that girl?" she asked Ginny Weasley, pointing at Phoenix.

"Oh, that's Nixie. Phoenix Turner. She's in your cousin's year." Turner? So that made her... but she was older than Patty. If she remembered the timeline...

Wyatt's sudden breaking of his talk with Dean, and his quick glance at her told her she wasn't alone in her suspicions. Phoenix Turner. Cole Turner's daughter, with a 'P' name, who seemed familiar to Patty. If it meant what she thought... but that was impossible, right? Her mother hadn't had a kid with Cole - unless you counted the self-destructing demon spawn. Right?

She and Wyatt cornered Chris in the Entrance Hall after the Feast, explaining everything in an undertone. Chris stared at them in shock.

"But that's... I mean... are you guys sure?"

"Pretty sure, yeah," Wyatt said. "It fits, doesn't it?"

"You three better get a move on if you don't want to get lost," a cool female voice said. They turned to see Phoenix, her dark blue eyes cold. "Seriously, it's hard to find your way around here."

"Um, Phoenix..." Patty began, wondering how much this hostile girl - her sister? - had overheard.

"Save it, Halliwell. Your speculations are pointless, by the way, whether you're right or not." And she strode away from them.

"Friendly, isn't she?" Wyatt muttered.

"If she's Cole's kid, is it any surprise?" Chris asked.

"Hey, he's the one who turned evil," Wyatt pointed out.

"He was possessed," Chris argued.

"OK, OK, guys, maybe she's right and we should go," Patty cut in. "Just so we don't get lost." How she became the practical one was something she'd never understood, but there it was.

* * *

Nixie watched from the shadows as the Halliwells rejoined their Houses. "You know, Miss Turner, skulking in the shadows is supposed to be _my_ job." She turned to her Head of House and smirked.

"Hello, Professor." She liked Snape; he was friends with Aunt Jazlyn, so she'd known him most of her life. So had Harry and Alex; he was OK with them outside school, but inside... he was indifferent to Alex and brutal to Harry. Jazlyn had explained this as being part of his cover.

"Now, why are you spying on the new students?" Severus knew there was history between the elder Halliwells and Cole Turner, but Lyn's loyalty to those she cared about had made it impossible for him to get details.

"Because they're being stupid and they haven't been here long enough to gossip."

"Ah. Well then, Miss Turner, if you've no more gossip patrol, I suggest you get to your dormitory." Nixie's smirk became a grin, and she left.

"Nix?" The voice made her stop again, a few corridors away.

"Hey, Dad."

"I wanted to talk to you about the Halliwells."

"What, avoid them at all costs?"

"No, just... don't seek them out, OK?"

"All right. Dad, I don't want anything to do with them."

Cole sighed, putting an arm across his daughter's shoulders. "I know, Nix. But they don't, and hell, they may not care. I don't know, and I'm not up for the risk." He was silent after that, thinking back to a time when he wouldn't have thought the Halliwells capable of kidnapping. But then, they wouldn't see it that way. No, they'd see _him_ as the kidnapper, forgetting _they_ were the ones who never even bothered to see if the Seer had been lying about his and Phoebe's child.

"Dad?" Nixie's voice cut through his musings. "Are you OK?"

No, he wasn't, not with all these memories slamming through his head. "Sure, kid. You'd better get to bed, before you get detention."

"Well, Filch is afraid of you, so he ignores me, but I do need to talk to Blaise, and put the fear of God in Parkinson, so all right. Love you, Dad."

"Love you, too. Good night." Nixie left then, and Cole stayed in the corridor, staring after her. He knew what she was talking about, Slytherin politics, and he really didn't understand the attraction. He needed to go over his lesson plans - and his strategy. He had fifth-year Gryffindors tomorrow, and Patience Halliwell looked even more like Phoebe than Nixie did. But he could handle it. It wasn't like Phoebe Halliwell was anything to him now anyway. Just a memory.

A/N: Methinks the gentleman doth protest too much... don't you? R&R!


	3. Weaving Webs

Disclaimer: Charmed and HP are not mine, all OCs are mine.

_**Chapter 3 - Weaving Webs: **_The next morning at breakfast, they got their schedules. Patience groaned when she saw what her second class was. "What's up?" Wyatt grumbled. He was not a morning person, and the coffee hadn't hit his brain yet.

"I've got Turner. Today!"

"Damn," he said, waking up a little. "Well, I've got him Wednesday, last class, and I'll check with Chris later. But look, I doubt he'll say anything."

"Yeah, well, we'll see, won't we?"

* * *

"Ginny, why is everyone in such a good mood?" Patty asked as they waited for Professor Turner.

"Because Cole's class is fun."

"Cole?"

"Oh, he's good friends with Harry's godparents, so we all know him as Cole during the hols. Sometimes I forget to switch back to Professor Turner."

"Oh." That was interesting. An ex-demon, the former Source, being a fun teacher? That was mildly disturbing, actually, forget interesting.

Cole walked in a moment later, flashing a grin at the students. "Well, it's good to see you all again. I should warn you, though, it's O.W.L. year, so things are going to get tough around here." Groans all around. "Hey, I'm sure - who did you have before? Colin?"

"Professor McGonagall, sir," the short boy in the front row answered.

"Well, I'm sure she went on about it for a good 15 minutes. All I'm doing is giving you fair warning. Now, the good news is, with Umbridge gone -" Apparently this Umbridge hadn't been well-liked, judging from her classmates' scowls at the name and clear happiness at the idea of her being gone. "With Umbridge gone, we can get back to practical lessons," Cole finished, smirking at the students' reactions. Apparently he hadn't liked Umbridge either.

"Who was Umbridge?" she whispered to Ginny.

"Evil Ministry stooge posing as a teacher. I'll explain -"

"Miss Weasley, Miss Halliwell. Care to share with the class?" Professor Turner asked mildly.

"Sorry, Professor, I was just explaining to Patty who Umbridge was," Ginny said quickly.

"Oh. Well, that's understandable." As the girls sagged in relief, he continued, "However, class is not the appropriate time for that discussion. In future, Miss Halliwell, ask your friends that sort of question after class." Then he began the lesson.

It was interesting, she admitted. The facts about demons were things she mostly knew, but the class was also about fighting them. And while she knew all about the use of chanted spells and potions to fight demons, she'd never imagined the new wooden wand she'd gotten just a few weeks ago could be so useful in the battle. It occurred to her that this kind of knowledge would be very useful when she and her cousins went home.

The class ended and she followed Ginny out, still thinking over the implications. She was so caught up she almost missed the now-familiar feeling of someone watching her. But at the last second she looked around; cold eyes, almost blank, met hers, but something was there, hidden in the depths of brilliant blue. Patty wondered if she really wanted to know what the hidden things were.

Her last class was Potions, which she hadn't been looking forward to. She wasn't really all that good with potions. Spells, now, those she was a whiz at, but not potions. She hoped this world's potions would be easier.

They weren't. In fact, she was even worse at these than Wiccan potions. She was so bad that her damned cauldron melted. Ginny, working nearby, looked very concerned. Snape, the Potions master, was a real jerk, and he was glaring malevolently at Patty. At the end of the class, he made her stay behind.

"If it wasn't for the fact that this class is mandatory, Halliwell, you would leave now and not return. But since it is, and I cannot have you melting cauldrons weekly, I am going to assign you a tutor. Come to my office at 7:30 tonight and I will introduce you. Go." Patty fled.

"That wasn't very nice, Sev," Jazlyn scolded, watching the girl run out. She'd had a Halliwell that day too, Chris, in her History of Magic class. The boy seemed fascinated, which put him in her good books.

"Her performance was abysmal. I suppose you're going to suggest I give her Alexandra as a tutor?"

"Well, Axie's damn good at Potions, but I wasn't going to suggest her." Jazlyn was a Gryffindor, but she'd grown up in a Slytherin household, and with Sev as a best friend, she'd learned some Slytherin traits. Those traits were what were pushing her now, and Severus recognized it. He saw the look in her eyes and knew the repressed Slytherin was coming out, and wondered what it meant.

"What about Phoenix?" Jazlyn said mildly. Severus raised an eyebrow.

"I imagine Turner wants his daughter well away from the Halliwells."

"Yes, he does, but..." Something's got to give, she thought silently. The tension level between the Turners and the newcomers was high and likely to go higher the second one of the kids' letters reached San Francisco. "It could be good for both of them."

"Just who are Turner and his daughter to the Halliwells?"

"No one, really. Old history, but there was never a resolution."

"And you intend to push one."

"More or less."

"Phoenix is, honestly, even better than Alexandra. So, I'll put them together, and see what happens." Jazlyn smiled at him, a sly smile that took him back years, to a slight gold-eyed girl who'd offered to be an ally against a quartet of bullying Gryffindors, to a red-haired girl with brilliant green eyes who held his heart still, even from beyond the grave. Held it enough to make him do anything... no matter the cost. The smile changed, showing that she'd seen his thoughts in his eyes, and she reached over, squeezing his hand gently.

"Sev, is something else going on?" He thought of Dumbledore, what the old man wanted him to do in Lily's name, and how it had to remain a secret.

"No, Lyn, just feeling nostalgic." She looked skeptical, but accepted the words. Then she left, and he sighed. He'd lost his love, but regained his sister. And by the time all was said and done, he'd lose her again too. But, at least he may get some questions answered about her strange cousin. He'd planned to put Phoenix and Patience together anyway, just to observe and get some answers. But he'd let Lyn think it was her idea. After all, he was a Slytherin, while she was just a Gryffindor, Slytherin traits or no.

* * *

Jazlyn felt slightly guilty. But she knew she was doing the right thing. Cole still loved Phoebe, she knew that. He loved her in a strange way, love all tangled with anger, pain, and even hate, but that love was still there. She had no way of knowing how Phoebe Halliwell felt, but she intended to find out. She was pretty sure that, considering how it had ended, there'd been no real closure on either side, and if nothing else, she was determined to see that change. She understood how open wounds could fester. It was why she'd forgiven Peter Pettigrew, something Sirius and Remus could not do. She'd never said she'd forgiven him, but deep down she had, if only because the deep hate he instilled in her had been warping her soul.

And besides that... Patty and Nixie were sisters. Didn't they deserve a chance to explore the bond created by blood, to see if there was anything more than genetics to it? Didn't they - and Wyatt and Chris, even - deserve the chance to be reconciled, to move beyond the sins of the parents? The status quo couldn't hold, that much she knew.

Cole would kill her. But she knew Sev wouldn't say anything; he'd be amused by Cole's anger when the other man came down to rant - as he would almost undoubtedly do. Keeping her involvement secret would only increase his amusement. And that was something Sev seemed to want lately.

Something was going on with him, she knew. She'd been his friend since they were eleven years old, and even during the time of their falling-out, she'd watched him, observed as she observed all those around her. She knew him, better than possibly anyone else still alive. And because she knew him, she could tell something was wrong. But he wouldn't tell. Severus Snape had never been one to lean on others, even when he needed support. Her lips quirked as she recalled a defiant young boy willing to take on four boyhood enemies alone, only being talked around with difficulty.

"I seem to find you here a lot," an amused voice said from behind her. Jazlyn smiled at Remus as she considered their surroundings. Yes, he did. She'd come to the clock tower, her favorite place to think. And Remus Lupin, back at the castle in his old teaching position, knew that very well.

"Hey, Remy."

"Jaz, is everything all right?"

"Oh, more or less. I'm worried about Cole and Nixie, and Severus."

"I understand about Cole and Nixie, what with the Halliwells, but what's wrong with Severus?"

"That's just it, I'm not sure. I know something's up, though."

"Your perceptive abilities are alarming at times."

"Yes, Sirius thinks so too."

"He's doing well, right?"

"You've been talking to him."

"Yes, but..."

"He tends to lie so people won't worry. Yeah. He's OK. But the near-miss with the Veil shook him, I think."

"It would shake anyone."

"Exactly." She paused, wondering if she should push. But hell, she was in a meddling mood today, so why not? "Have you talked to Nymph - Tonks - lately?"

Remus stiffened at once. "Jaz..."

"Remus, tell me the truth. Are you pushing her away because you're not interested? Or because you believe you're not worthy of finding someone?"

"I am a _werewolf_, Jazlyn. If I were with Tonks, I would lower her forever in the eyes of most of our world. And what if I... what if one full moon..."

"Nymph is an Auror, perfectly capable of brewing Wolfsbane. And if she weren't, I could do it, or talk Sev into it." She sighed, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Remus, you deserve to find happiness. And so does she. If you two can find it together... Remy, give it a shot, at least. Be able to say you tried."

Remus sighed, running a hand through his light brown hair, prematurely flecked with gray. "Maybe you're right, Jaz. I'll think about it, OK?"

"Being you, you have to. The Marauders would've been caught far more often without their cautious thinker."

"And Severus wouldn't have held up quite as well against us without his Gryffindor allies," he rejoined, smirking.

"Ah, well, schoolyard battles. They've been left in the schoolyard."

"Tell Severus and Sirius that."

"True," she agreed ruefully. She smiled, shaking her head. "Sometimes I wonder if they remember they're grown men, the way they act with each other."

"I don't think Sirius is the type to ever grow up," Remus agreed. "As for Severus... well, he's just temperamental."

"And very good at holding a grudge."

"Who's good at holding a grudge?" Cole's voice cut in from behind Remus. "Oh, sorry, is this a private party?"

"Hardly," Jazlyn said, shaking her head and ignoring the twinge of guilt she felt at the sight of her cousin. "You OK, Cole?"

"Yeah, fine. I had Patience today, second class."

"Oh. How'd that go?"

"She and Ginny were talking at the beginning of class, I told them off, that was it. She's good; no surprise, my class_ is_ demonology."

"Yeah," Jazlyn said.

"I met Wyatt, the eldest Halliwell," Remus said. "He seems a bit arrogant. Reminded me of James."

"Chris made me think of you," Jazlyn put in. "He's quiet, but I have a feeling he's not as well-behaved as he appears."

"Hey!" Remus said, feigning offense.

"You're the Marauder here," Jazlyn said mildly.

"Didn't you say you were made one too?" Cole interjected innocently. Remus smirked, Jazlyn rolled her eyes.

"Come on, boys, let's go to dinner. Wouldn't want the students wondering where three of their teachers got to."

* * *

"So, Miss Turner, Halliwell is to be your student until she is safe around potions," Snape concluded. Nixie bit back a groan. This was not good.

"Professor -"

"My decision is final." Was that a hint of... _amusement_ in the level black eyes? Yes, it was. He was enjoying this, he knew something. Damn. _Well, now what? _No choice but to play her Head of House's game, and see what came of it. But Patty...! This, Nixie decided, was not going to go well.

Patty came in a moment later, and froze when she saw Nixie. "Halliwell, Turner is going to be your tutor. Both of you, out now. I suggest a trip to the library."

They left, and Patty stood foolishly in the hallway until Nixie, several paces ahead, looked back and said, "Well, you heard the man, to the library, Wicca girl."

"You really don't like me, do you, Phoenix?"

"I couldn't care less about you, Patience."

"Patty, call me Patty."

"Patty, then. I just want to get you up to snuff so we can end this unfortunate affiliation."

"Hey, I thought you were one of the Slytherins who wanted to integrate?"

"I am, but not with exchange students whose family -" She cut herself off.

"Look, it's not my fault my mother's romance with your father fell apart!"

"No, it's her fault for not even stopping to think there might be more to the story than what's on the surface!"

"Hey, she's your mother too, so watch it!"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, she is, isn't she? I mean, you have a 'P' name, you look kinda like me..." Oh, God, she'd screwed up royally.

She could have tormented the younger girl over the mistake. But... Patty was right. Whatever Nixie's feelings toward her biological mother, the daughter that woman had raised didn't deserve to suffer for it. "Genetically, I guess you're right. But it's an accident of blood, and I've no interest in a reunion. So now that you've got your ideas confirmed, can we get to work?"

Patty just stared as Nixie strode into the library. Collecting herself, she followed, mind reeling. Phoenix was her sister... what was she going to do? Would she tell her mother? How could she? Should she, even? God, this was just too much!


	4. Aftershocks

Disclaimer: Not mine, barring OCs.

_**Chapter 4 - Aftershocks:**_ The letter was short and to the point. It barely sounded like his niece, but under the circumstances, Leo figured that was understandable. _Uncle Leo, you can't tell Mom or my aunts about this yet, but..._

He was in shock, reading it. Cole Turner alive and teaching at Hogwarts, a father to a girl who resembled Patty - and, by the same token, Phoebe - named Phoenix. A girl who had basically admitted her blood relationship to Patty. But how?

The Seer had lied to them before, when they'd first thought they vanquished the Source. Had she lied about the baby? Cole and Phoebe's baby? Was there more to that child? And how could it have been missed? Or had the other Elders... no. They wouldn't damn a baby. But after Gideon... he could believe almost anything of his colleagues.

What was he going to do? Patty didn't want him saying anything, but Phoebe had a right to know. And speaking of knowing, how had Cole found out? Had he learned it in the Wasteland? Had he found her there, then escaped to England? Why hadn't he come back to San Francisco? Well, that much was obvious. He probably expected himself and his daughter to be vanquished on sight. Not that the girls would see it that way. Oh no, when this news broke... he would be the first to weather the storms of Halliwell temper, but Hogwarts' demonology professor would certainly be the second target.

Leo's jaw dropped as he thought of something else in Patty's note. _Apparently they're related to the Temaidas, some old wizarding family, through Cole's dad. It's why they can use wands._ Jazlyn Temaida Black, the History of Magic professor. She must have known all along, but chosen not to say... had Cole given her advice on how to work with him? She'd seemed _very_ familiar with his world, more than he'd expected from a 'wand-wielder'. Sneaky bastard, he probably had. And maybe it was unbefitting an Elder, even an Elder like Leo, who was hardly one at all, but that amused him.

Amusement fled, though, when his mind returned to the problem at hand. Just how was he going to handle this?

* * *

What had Snape been thinking? That was all Alex could think as she sat in a window niche in the library, waiting for Blaise and watching Nixie and Patty. It was clear to see that the two girls were really uncomfortable with each other. Snape obviously meant for something to happen, but what? Did he know the Turner/Halliwell history? It wasn't likely. But he was observant, and so had probably picked up on the tension.

Oh, damn, but Cole was going to flip. And by the look in Nixie's eyes, she was going to do the same as soon as she was alone. Damn, damn, damn. How in hell were they supposed to keep Nixie away from the Halliwells if shit like this kept happening?

"The plot thickens," Blaise murmured in her ear.

"Don't you dare tell me you find this amusing, Zab," she said tartly.

"Oh, only a little, Xan, just because seeing dear Nix holding in that explosion is funny. I do hope when she lets loose, she does so on Parkinson. That pug bitch could use a scare."

"Blaise..."

"Well, she does. Come on, you knew when we got together that I was a sneaky bastard angling for power plays. You grew up with Nix, I don't see why it bugs you."

True, and ever since Nixie'd become a Slytherin, she'd learned to play the games that House focused on. Alex often thought Slytherins grew up faster than those in other Houses, because the way their House operated forced them to start thinking like adults early. Though some in other Houses, like her, Harry, and their friends, had also been forced to. _This damn war... _

It was destroying everything. And though few would want to admit it, they needed Slytherin cunning as much as Ravenclaw brains, Gryffindor courage, or Hufflepuff loyalty to beat Voldemort.

"Your mind's wandering. Where'd it go?"

"The war. Where else?"

"True, very true. Though my mind..."

"No snogging in the library."

"Shall we find a broom closet then, O Strict One?"

"Well... why not?"

* * *

"Uh, Dad? Can we talk?" Phoenix leaned against the doorframe of her father's office. Cole glanced up from the summer assignments he was marking, concerned by the look in his daughter's face.

"Everything OK?"

"Um, no." She bit her lip. "Dad... Snape made me Patty's Potions tutor. And we got in each other's faces, and... um... she knows. She'd guessed, but I... sort of... well... confirmed it. I know you said stay away, but I had no choice, and when she blurted out about me being her sister, she just looked so horrified at her slip, I felt bad for her... she's only fifteen, and she's so young..." She shook her head.

Cole wasn't angry. He thought he would be, and was faintly surprised that he wasn't, and yet... He'd known it would come to this, hadn't he? If he were being honest. "Nixie, sweetheart, it's fine. It was bound to happen." He walked over to her and hugged her, trying to reassure her that he wasn't upset. She returned the hug, understanding that he wasn't mad.

"Dad? I'm... I kinda want to meet them, you know? The Halliwells. I don't want any sloppy reunion kind of thing, I just want..." She just wanted to know who they were, her mother and her aunts. And maybe learn more about the other magic in her blood, the magic her father couldn't help her with much. He'd hunted witches, not studied the particulars of their magic. Power... it was almost a necessity in their world now. What with the war brewing... She pulled away, but didn't move far.

"I figured that. Jaz always said you would. She always said you'd want to know..."

"I know already, what happened. Summer before last, Axie helped me do a past-viewing spell... so she knows too. I hope that's OK."

Of all of the teens, Alex was the one he felt most able to keep that history a secret. "You'd have told her anyway."

"Probably. We told Harry a bit, this summer. Not everything, but some. Exchange, for him telling us about the Dursleys and such."

Harry was also hardly likely to be openly chatty. "I'm hardly surprised. So, anything you want to ask about?"

"Not you. I just want to ask... Phoebe why she never noticed anything was wrong."

"So do I," he whispered, almost too low for her to hear. But she did hear. She didn't say anything, though. What she'd seen... the story of Cole Turner and Phoebe Halliwell was the kind of thing that the Muggle writer Shakespeare would have been proud to have written. She had a feeling that a reckoning was coming, several, in fact. What the outcome would be, she had no idea.

* * *

Leo hadn't intended to tell the sisters yet, but Paige burst into his office ranting about one of her students, and saw the paper. "Oh, what's Patty got to... to say?" She stared at the paper, her face paling. "Leo..." she whispered. "What? This... oh, God, how are we going to tell Phoebe?"

"That's the point. I don't even know where to start."

"Maybe just hand over the letter?"

"Maybe..."

"Oh, this is not good."

"Paige, has anyone ever told you have a talent for understatement?"

* * *

"I wish I knew what to do now," Nixie said, shaking her head. She and Alex were in the Room of Requirement, discussing the night's events. "I mean, I doubt Patty's going to keep her mouth shut, and I don't know how long it'll take for a letter to reach the States. Once it does..."

"All hell will break loose," Alex predicted. "Well, it's done, and we'll just have to see what happens next. Like I said before, they can't have you."

"I know, but I'm... worried about Dad, honestly."

"Why? I mean, I thought Cole was over..." Alex trailed off, remembering the things she and Nixie had seen with that past-viewing spell. Was it even possible to get over stuff like that?

"He's not. He wants everyone to think so, but he's not. He still... he still loves her, you know."

"Who, Phoebe? I can't see why."

"Neither can I." Nixie sighed. "Your mum said once it's a Temaida thing. 'Temaidas only ever fall once', she said."

"Yeah, I've heard her say that myself. Still, considering that she killed him..."

"You'd think there'd be a breaking point. Well, there wasn't, exactly, and now..." She shrugged, considering how to phrase the feeling she'd gotten earlier in her father's office. "It never really ended, if you know what I mean. Phoebe still thinks he's dead."

"I noticed," Alex remarked. "And I get what you're saying." Gold-flecked gray eyes grew distant as the young Gryffindor tried to think of something, anything to say. "But... maybe this had to happen. You've things to say to your mother, so does Cole. And I'm sure she'll have things to say to both of you. So maybe things will get crazy. But once it's all over, maybe you'll all be better for it."

"Maybe," said Nixie without much conviction.

* * *

"So she's definitely confirmed it?" Wyatt asked slowly. He, Patty, and Chris were in the library, talking in hushed voices.

"Yeah," Patty said. "I think she hates Mom."

"That's not much of a surprise," Chris commented. "Under the circumstances."

"But wasn't their kid a boy? And the Source, technically?" Wyatt asked, confused.

"That's what we all thought. Maybe someone was wrong, or..." Patty paused, thinking. "Maybe the demon spawn existed but... maybe Phoenix is his twin?"

"That could be," said Chris.

"But why isn't she evil too?" Wyatt objected.

"Who knows? Maybe all the dark magic was concentrated on her brother?" Patty suggested.

"Could be, I guess," Wyatt said doubtfully. "I think we need to talk to Phoenix, sooner rather than later."

"But I wouldn't push too hard, because she doesn't seem to like us very much," Chris cautioned.

"And I don't get that," Patty said, scowling. "It's not our fault, what happened with our parents and her dad. I mean, we weren't born yet!"

"No, but they're not here and we are," Chris told his cousin. "She's probably got a lot of anger in her. I bet Cole does too, only he's not going to take it out on us."

"Yeah, he's waiting for Aunt Phoebe to show up," Wyatt put in. "And after the stuff they found out two months ago..."

"She feels terrible, knowing that she fell for the Source's games," Patty said sadly. "And if he rips into her about it, she might fall apart. She's not holding it together that well as is." She shook her head. "She still loves him. I don't think she ever really stopped."

"Is she crazy?" Wyatt demanded.

"No," Chris said, shaking his head. "But Patty's right. I thought it too, after that thing with the Source. And what happened is sad. I guess what's good about this is they'll both finally get some closure, once it all comes out."

Closure. Right. For a second, Patty wondered what else might come of all of this. What if her mother and Cole... but no. With all that had happened, surely they wouldn't even consider the idea of getting back together. And why would she even think it? Maybe because she'd caught her mom staring at a page in the Book or looking through a box of old things she'd never seen before. She wasn't sure. But she did know that whatever happened once Uncle Leo broke and told her mom and aunts what was going on was going to change things forever.

A/N: R&R! And check out my fic The Gemini Chronicles if you like Doctor Who as well as Charmed.


	5. Forging Bonds

Disclaimer: Not mine, barring OCs.

_**Chapter 5 - Forging Bonds:**_ Potions tutoring was an awkward hour for Patty each day for the following week. Phoenix didn't speak except to tell her what she was doing wrong with a brew, or to explain something in a text. It was driving her insane.

What did Phoenix want from her? An apology for her mother's actions? Hard to give, especially as she didn't think her mother had been wrong. Her choice had been bad, maybe, but any choices in that type of situation would have been. And what did she want from her bitter elder sister (as weird as the idea of having an elder sister was)? A strong anchor like Aunt Piper was for the family, or the tough fighter that Aunt Prue had been, according to the stories? To her, this was what an elder sister was, but Phoenix was none of these things. What she was was fiercely intelligent and highly temperamental, even if she managed to keep the temper leashed. How was Patty supposed to deal with a sister like that?

Phoenix wasn't faring much better. She didn't know how to deal with this girl who was her sister, and even if she did know, she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle it. They were too different, too divided, staring at each other across a gulf created by the wounds of the past. Did the sins of the fathers really get passed to the children, Nixie wondered. And if so, was it up to them to seek redemption, absolution?

If so, that was hardly fair. _We are not responsible for our parents' mistakes_. And mistakes had been made by all, Nixie knew that. Her father had screwed up too. The whole deal with the Seer... bad idea, even if there'd been no other viable option. He should have written a note or something. Nixie loved her father, but love isn't blind. She knew Cole was far from perfect, but he didn't deserve the blame that had been heaped on him by the Halliwells. It hadn't all been his doing. So what was the new generation supposed to do with the broken dreams of the old?

Neither knew of the other's thoughts as they bent over Potions texts, but finally Patty couldn't take the silence anymore. "You hate me, don't you?"

"Why would I hate you?" Nixie asked.

"Because I'm proof that our mother moved on, that she was able to love again, that she could forget your father."

"Why would I hate you for that? You didn't ask to be who you were. And I notice you don't say 'my dad' anywhere in that. Where's your dad?"

"Who knows? He's a mortal, and magic scares him. He pays child support, sends gifts at Christmas and my birthday - expensive, really nice gifts - but I've never seen him. He doesn't want to meet me." Patty shrugged, trying to act casual.

"Then maybe you should hate me," Nixie said quietly. "For having a father when you don't."

"You didn't do that on purpose. Why would I - ?" Patty smiled, understanding. "So neither of us should hate each other. The past is the past, and it's nothing to do with us, is that it?"

"No," Nixie said, her eyes distant as she looked toward the window, where the sun was setting. "No, it's everything to do with us, it's why we're here, it's what's causing the problems with us. But maybe we can move beyond it." The black-haired girl sighed. "Look, Patty... I don't know how this is going to play. Once your family finds out about Dad, about me..."

"All hell's going to break loose. I told Uncle Leo, but I asked him not to say anything. Not yet. I wanted his advice, but I... I didn't want to bring the fury of the Halliwell women to Hogwarts just yet."

"'Fury of the Halliwell women'? So my temper's not all from Dad?"

"Oh, hardly!" And Patty was off in stories in which for one reason or other, her mom or one of her aunts had lost their temper and raged at someone - or several someones - for what could feel like forever. With an evil grin, Nixie told her about the explosion that could result from pushing Jazlyn to the end of her very long fuse.

"Really? Professor Black seems so calm all the time."

"Usually, yeah, but if you get her mad enough... she's as scary as you say Aunt Piper is!" And as they laughed and shared stories, neither of them had noticed that Nixie had dropped the 'your' she used when referring to the Halliwells.

* * *

Soon the study meetings weren't just about Potions. Patty was good at her other subjects, but she was still competing with students who'd been at this for five years. Some of her Magic School classes dealt with wand-wielder type magics, in theory, but not all, and not in this depth. They discussed every subject, and then went into other things. Patty was curious about the war, and about what had already happened. As Nixie spun the tales of what had happened at Hogwarts - she'd been involved, even if Harry'd been the person most involved - Patty listened in shock.

"But you were all just kids? And why'd Voldemort want to kill him as a baby anyway?"

Nixie paused, thinking of what Harry'd told her, Alex, Ron, and Hermione over the summer. _Neither can live while the other survives.._. "Who knows? Voldemort's a sociopath." She was coming to trust Patty, but that wasn't her secret to tell.

"Why do you say his name when almost no one does?"

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself. I won't give Voldemort my fear. A practical wariness, sure, but not fear. It's what he wants."

Patty stared. Nixie was tougher than she'd thought, and older, in some ways, than a sixteen-year-old ought to be. Not surprising, all things considered. Nixie and her friends - the people who she considered her family - had been through a lot in their lives already. She couldn't even imagine it all. Azkaban - which was apparently hell on earth - and attacks by Dark Lords and scandals that dragged all their names through the mud. She'd never been so glad that the magical world she knew was hidden and fragmented, because otherwise... _What whispers would follow me through the halls, or my cousins?_ It didn't bear thinking about.

"So, you're going to fight?"

"Of course. Which is why I've a favor to ask you."

"What?"

"Teach me your kind of magic?"

"You don't know it?"

"Where would I learn?" Though she had learned a little, thanks to those visits she used to get. But she'd never told anyone about that, and wasn't about to start now.

Good point, Patty realized. But still... "Your dad?"

"Lived with witches, married one, but he never was one. Dad knows enough about witches' magic to defend himself against it, not enough to teach it." Nixie shrugged. "So I can do wand magic, I know how to shimmer and throw energy balls, but otherwise, nothing."

"Do you have active powers?" Patty asked.

"Like I said, I've never practiced your kind of magic." It was evasive, and meant to be. She didn't want to discuss it just yet. Not that the power was so unusual; it was common, apparently, but to explain the power would mean telling her secret.

"OK then, I'll teach you, but can you do me a favor? Well, not me, technically..."

"What?"

"Well, I heard you're a Chaser for the Slytherin Quidditch team. Chris wants to learn how to fly."

"Does he? Well, I guess I could take him for a spin."

* * *

And so, that Saturday, Nixie came onto the Quidditch pitch holding two brooms. One was the Comet Two Sixty she'd learned to fly on, the other was the Nimbus 2001 she rode as a Quidditch player (hers was not a Malfoy bribe; she'd joined the team in her third year and the broom was hers, not the team's like the ones Malfoy Sr. Had bought).

Chris was waiting nervously in the stands; Patty and Wyatt sat with him. Obviously they were there as moral support. She smiled wryly. So Chris was a little nervous. She got that. Unlike Alex, who'd taken to flying immediately (a legacy from her uncle Regulus, according to Jazlyn), Nixie'd had to learn the hard way. But it had been worth it. In the air she was more free than she ever was on the ground. In the air, nothing could touch her. Maybe she could give that feeling to Chris.

"Hey," she said, walking over to them.

"Hello," said Wyatt, light blue eyes narrowed slightly. Oh dear, he didn't like her.

"Relax, Halliwell, I'm not going to bite," she drawled.

"Wyatt, be nice," Patty put in.

"Sorry," Wyatt said. "Maybe it's the whole Gryffindor/Slytherin thing, or - "

"Or the Halliwell/Turner thing?" Nixie cut in mildly. "Don't worry about it. I haven't exactly been the friendliest person; I would be wary of me too." She turned to Chris. "So, are you ready?" She held out the Comet. Chris looked at it with mixed excitement and apprehension before gripping the smooth wood firmly.

"Sure."

And so the morning went. Chris was good - he had a bit of a natural talent for it. Maybe it was his angel blood. It didn't take long before he was flying competently - and more important, confidently. That was about the time Harry and Alex joined them with their Firebolt and Pegasus (an American-made broom; Nixie still remembered how long Alex had schemed to get that thing) and took to the air themselves. Eventually Wyatt took the Comet when Chris wanted a break and tried it himself. He wasn't as good as his brother, and if he couldn't orb, a couple of his slips might have really hurt him. Patty, however, shook her head emphatically when Nixie asked if she wanted a go.

"No, I'll stay on the ground, thanks. Never did like heights much."

"Could be worse," Harry remarked ruefully, landing beside them. "Hagrid once put me on a hippogriff. That was interesting."

"That was hilarious, actually," Nixie teased lightly. Harry scowled.

"It was not," Harry muttered mutinously.

"What?" Alex asked.

"Wasn't the Buckbeak incident back in third year funny? Harry having to ride him, I mean, not him attacking Malfoy. Though the snob deserved it," Nixie explained.

"Oh, that. Yeah, Har, sorry, but it was pretty funny." Alex smiled as Harry sputtered indignantly.

"Wow, man, we'll have to see you pull a repeat performance sometime," Wyatt suggested.

"Shut up, Wyatt," Harry muttered.

* * *

Jazlyn watched, smiling slightly as the kids joked and talked. Things were going exceptionally well.

"You know, plotting can be dangerous," Remus said from behind her.

"What?" she said, frowning.

"I guessed you had something to do with Severus' choice of tutor for Patty," Remus replied.

"Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if that was his plan all along. It's the kind of thing he'd do."

"But not the kind of thing you'd usually do. Jaz, what are you up to?"

"Trying to fix old wrongs, Remy."

"You had nothing to do with any of it."

"I'm not saying I did, but that doesn't mean I can't be involved in trying to fix it, does it?"

"No, I suppose not." He smiled wryly. "You're reminding me of Lily."

"Oh?"

"Yes, when she came up with that plot to reunite you and Sirius."

"Oh, well, the damage I'm trying to fix is a bit more severe than an argument over an arranged marriage."

"I know that much." Remus raised an eyebrow. "Still, don't you think Cole will be rather... unappreciative of your meddling? Somehow, I doubt his retaliation will be as harmless as syrup and feathers."

Jazlyn snickered at the memory of the prank she and Sirius had played on James, Lily, and Remus back in seventh year. Merlin, they'd looked so ridiculous! "That," she informed her old friend, "is why I don't intend to tell him. I can't just sit back and do nothing, but I don't need to deal with the famous Turner temper either."

"No, it's worse than the Black one, and you live with that. Double versions of it, in fact."

"Exactly. Add in one Potter, and it's a damn good thing I don't lose my temper so easily."

Remus chuckled, but his light mood ended when Jazlyn said, "So, thought any more about the thing with Nymph?"

"Jazlyn... Tonks deserves better than me."

"She chose you, though, Remy, and to be honest, I disagree with you. I can't see much better than you, and you're perfect for her," Jazlyn asserted. "Now. Do you love her or not?"

Remus paused. "Yes, but - "

"No buts, you idiot man! If you love her, you'd better tell her. If not, I'm going to hex you into the next century. She's in Hogsmeade, by the way, so you can take care of that now."

She was reminding him of Lily more than ever. This was ridiculous. But he did want to see Tonks, and he did want to talk to her. So... He left. Jazlyn smiled, pleased with herself. That was one problem solved, at least for now. Another was well on its way to being solved, and the third... She would just have to keep pressing Severus. Somehow, she had a feeling that whatever was going on with him was the most serious of the problems at hand.

* * *

When the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team arrived on the pitch, Nixie and the Halliwells left, heading back to the castle. Nixie was telling them about Hagrid's dragon, Norbert, and that apparently, Norbert was now Norberta. "Threw Hagrid for a loop, I can tell you that much," she said with a grin.

"Mom says I conjured a dragon once as a baby," Wyatt offered. Nixie's eyebrows shot up.

"Damn, twice-blessed isn't just a fancy title, is it?" Nixie mused.

"Nope," Wyatt said, a bit of a swagger becoming apparent in his stride. Nixie narrowed her eyes. Someone was going to have to take this boy down a notch. Maybe she could be the one to do it.

Suddenly, Chris gasped. "Dad?!" Nixie's eyes flew away from Wyatt and landed on a man at the door leading inside. He was tall, though shorter than her father, with dark blond hair and light blue eyes. Wyatt obviously took after him in looks. Damn.

She tried to slip away as Wyatt and Chris went to greet their father, but a hand closed around her wrist. Patty. And she couldn't shimmer; they were still close enough to the field that she might be seen and she was supposed to keep her demonic powers hidden whenever she could at school. _Damn doesn't begin to cover it. _

"It's alright, Phoenix," Leo Wyatt said, holding up a hand. Good God, she really did look like a Halliwell. He was absolutely certain now that no mistakes had been made. This girl was a member of the family, whether she wanted to be or not. "I just want to talk."

A/N: R&R! Next chapter, Leo has to deal with two hostile Turners, Cole finds out something shocking, and Nixie does some soul-searching.


	6. Minor Revelations

_**Chapter 6 - Minor Revelations: **_"Talk about what?" Nixie asked, her entire demeanor going hostile. She wasn't going to play some angel boy's games.

"I think you know."

"Oh, how nicely cryptic. I got enough of that when I took Divination." She scowled. "What do you want with me?"

The three Halliwell teens were watching with concern. Chris finally said, "Uh, Dad, we'll see you later. We'll be in the library." And they left. Patty looked back at her uncle and her sister, wondering what was going to happen now.

"Phoenix, I'm not the enemy here," Leo said, trying to calm the girl.

"No? Could've fooled me."

"Is that what your father's told you?"

"No, that's what a past-viewing spell told me," she snapped. "And just so you know, I said past-viewing, not memory-viewing, which means what I saw was unbiased."

"But you brought your biases to what you saw," Leo commented calmly. "What you have to understand is that none of us knew what had really happened. The Source was a good enough actor that he fooled us all. And later, with you, everything pointed to you being the Source's child, and whether you were or not, Phoebe wouldn't have been able to stop the Seer from taking you. She didn't know how."

"Of course it looked like she was pregnant with demon spawn, she was. I had a twin brother, he was the evil one!"

"Why didn't anyone realize there were twins? Do you know that?"

"No. Maybe the demon spawn hid me. Spells wouldn't show me that." Nixie glared at him. "Is this what you came for? Information? There you go, it's all I've got. Can you leave me alone now?"

"That's not why I'm here, Phoenix. I haven't said anything to your mother yet, though one of your aunts also saw the letter - "

"Which one?"

"Paige."

"Great. And did she say that Dad and I need vanquishing? 'Cause she seems to be the trigger-happy one of the bunch," the girl said acidly.

Paige had not considered a vanquish, though she had been about to orb to Hogwarts and "kick Cole's ass into the next century" as she'd put it, but Leo had stopped her, not wanting to cause a problem just yet. He'd managed to talk her down, which had taken a while, but eventually he'd elicited her promise that she wouldn't attack Cole - or say anything to her sisters just yet. "No, she didn't," he said honestly. "And no one else knows."

"Yeah, for how long?" Nixie said skeptically. Why wouldn't he go away?

"I don't know," Leo admitted.

"Well, that's just bloody fantastic. Look, will you just go away? I don't have anything else to say to you."

"Phoenix, I don't want to - "

"Leo, I believe my daughter asked you to leave her alone," Cole said, coming up behind his daughter and putting his hands on her shoulders. "Nix, go, will you?"

"Yeah, gladly," she replied. She glared at Leo before leaving. Then Cole was glaring at him, and Leo felt a headache coming on. He could hardly blame either Turner for their hostility, but that didn't mean he enjoyed dealing with it.

"Cole, look, I - "

"You what, Leo? What the hell are you doing badgering my daughter? We don't want anything to do with you people, so leave us alone."

"I wasn't badgering her, I was just talking to her," Leo replied tiredly. "And you're lucky it was me and not Paige. She wants to kick your ass."

"What else is new? And how did she find out? I'm guessing she's the only one, or you wouldn't be the one here."

"Patty wrote me; she doesn't want Phoebe to know yet, but she wanted advice. Unfortunately, Paige came into my office unexpectedly and saw the letter."

"What was Paige doing at Magic School?"

"She teaches there. Cole, if you don't mind my asking...?"

"How are Nixie and I alive?" Cole finished for him. He relaxed slightly; he really didn't have much against Leo. "I found her in the Wasteland," he explained, "after I contacted Phoebe and she shut me down. Once I found Nix, I was determined to get us out of there, and I eventually was able to make contact with someone who helped us out. Not an evil someone either, just neutral, and that's all I intend to say about that. This person gave me back my powers as Belthazor, without the demonic consciousness, so I could protect myself and Nix if need be, and also told me about my father's family history. So once I got out, I went in search of the Temaida family. It took a few years, because it's hard for an outsider to get anywhere in the Wizarding world, but I finally tracked Jazlyn down."

"And she accepted you, just like that."

"Just like that. She was in a bad situation at the time; her husband had been given a life term in Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit, and everyone shut her out because she wouldn't say he was guilty. She believed in him, and was being punished for it. When I told her my story, she decided to give Nix and me a chance, and it worked out for all of us."

Leo nodded. "Cole, I know you don't like the idea, but Phoenix deserves the chance to know the rest of her family, to learn about her heritage. I'm not going to push anything, but you know enough about the Halliwell family to know that secrets don't last forever. Phoebe's going to find out, and when she does, she's going to show up here, probably with Piper and Paige in tow."

"Yes, to save the poor kid from the evil demon, I imagine."

_Well_, thought Leo, _that answers that_. Cole didn't know what they'd found out about the Source. Which meant, for once, he had the perfect parting shot. "Actually, no, considering that we know now that you were possessed by the Source and not responsible for what happened." And then he orbed away to the library, leaving a stunned demonology professor behind.

* * *

Nixie stalked down the hall, furious. It wasn't so much what Leo had said, it was just... She'd been able to get on with the Halliwell kids because they hadn't been alive when everything went to Hell, so she couldn't, by rights, blame them. But Leo had been there, and he was a Whitelighter. Weren't they supposed to know things, and have all-knowing bosses? So how had her father's possession slipped the radar? Obviously someone had screwed up, and maybe it wasn't Leo, but he was there, and he was someone to get angry at. Unfortunately for him, he was the only one available, so all of Nixie's fury was focused on him at the moment.

"Hello, Phoenix, is everything all right?" a dreamy voice asked. Nixie looked up. She'd reached the courtyard by this time, and Luna Lovegood was sitting on a bench a few feet away, looking up at her.

"Sure, Luna, just dandy."

"Oh, because you looked like a Ragnar got you. They make people fly into rages, you know."

"No, Luna, no Ragnars," Nixie said. "Just angels who don't know when to leave well enough alone."

"Angels? They don't exist, so how could they bother you?" The sheer oddity of Luna claiming something _didn't_ exist made Nixie laugh.

"I know Dad's class is on demons, but I know he's mentioned Whitelighters a time or two," Nixie commented.

"Oh, Whitelighters, I see now. Was it your uncle?"

"_What?!_"

"Well, the Halliwell boys are half-Whitelighter, and they're your cousins. It's obvious their cousin is your sister, you look so much alike. It's sad that there's a family feud that kept you apart," the blonde girl said complacently. Nixie goggled at her. Luna was so weird she sometimes forgot how perceptive and observant the younger girl was. Not exactly a wise thing to do, all things considered.

"It is sad," she said quietly, sitting next to the Ravenclaw. And it was, wasn't it? Infuriating, obviously, but also... just sad. She'd never let herself be sad before, to wish she'd had her mother. As a little girl, there'd been Jazlyn and her secret teacher, and as a teen, she'd still had Jazlyn, and Tonks when she wanted a younger opinion. As for other family... well, she'd had her father, and also Alex. After third year, she'd had Harry, Remus, and Sirius, to varying extents. But this year...

She thought of the stories Patty told her. Remembered the flashes of longing she'd ignored, and of the rightness of spending time with her little sister. Today, with Wyatt and Chris there too, had been just as right, somehow. What exactly did it all mean? And what, exactly, did she want?

"It's OK to be confused, Nixie," Luna said matter-of-factly. "I would be in your position. But I'm sure it will all work out."

"Luna, you don't even know what happened. How can you be so sure?"

"I know that whatever it was hurt a lot of people. It's very obvious. Maybe if you and your dad thought about that, and if the others involved do too, it will go easier for all of you."

Had anyone else been hurt? She imagined Phoebe Halliwell hadn't _wanted_ to vanquish her husband; she'd become the Source's queen first, after all. Maybe Leo was right about her bringing her own biases to the things she'd learned. "Maybe you're right," she told Luna, her thoughts far away.

* * *

"So according to Leo, somehow they found out the truth. I have no clue how, and I don't really care at this point, but they know," Cole finished, looking to Jazlyn for her response.

"Fascinating," she murmured.

"What?"

"That they know. It changes things a bit. Your main reason for keeping Nix from them is gone, Cole." Jazlyn expected the glare, and was unaffected by it.

"Jaz, why do you keep pushing that?"

"Because, as I've said before, Nixie deserves to know her maternal relatives. And not just for the emotional reasons, but because of her powers."

"Nixie's not a Wiccan witch," Cole argued. "She's never practiced it."

"You know as well as I do that she did once, and you made her stop."

"And you know why! I didn't want the Elders to be able to track her!"

"I know, Cole," she said quietly, holding up her hands in a calming gesture. "But that's moot, now, and her power's getting away from her." She could still see it in her mind's eye. That night at the Ministry, and Bella had just cast the spell that should have sent Sirius careening into the Veil. But he'd flown over it instead, landing in a heap on the other side. She'd known even before turning to look that it was Nixie who'd done that. "Her powers are getting away from her, Cole."

He knew that. And he also knew what the Seer had once said, that his and Phoebe's baby would be a powerful force for good or evil, depending on what they did. He'd thought the vision had come to nothing, and yet... Nixie was a wand-witch, part demon, and, much as he wanted to deny it, she was a Halliwell by blood. If she was able to harness the full potential of her heritage, who knew what she was capable of? Which meant she needed to control it. But... "Jazlyn, I can't. I can't trust them even that much."

"You may have to."

"I can't! You don't understand. It's not the vanquish; I can understand they had no choice there, but when Phoebe left me in the Wasteland..." He trailed off. "You don't know what that sort of betrayal feels like."

"Don't I?" Jazlyn's voice was quiet. He looked into her amber eyes, meaning to respond angrily, but found himself remembering the early days, when they'd first met. Then she'd been a woman called a lovesick fool at best and an evil traitor nearly as bad as her husband at worst. The love of her life had been locked away in a hell on Earth, and all of her friends were lost either to death or her own unwillingness to deny her husband's innocence. Back then, he'd thought of her as the only one who could remotely understand what he'd been through, and if he were honest with himself, he still thought that.

"Cole, I get it. But do you? Do you get the fact that your daughter needs to learn about who she is, that everyone involved deserves the chance to right the wrongs of years ago?"

* * *

That night, Nixie slipped away from everyone, leaving the castle and going out onto the grounds. Once she was in a place where she knew no one would see her, she shimmered out. She arrived in a small cave near the edge of the ocean. This was Brighton, the seaside town she'd grown up in, and this cave had been the secret place of two young girls. She and Alex had spent many days here, playing various games as little girls, talking together as they got older. It was here that they'd taken Harry, the day he'd finally opened up about the Dursleys. And, a few years later, it was here that she and Alex had cast the past-viewing spell, where they'd told Harry the gist of what they'd seen. And so it was here she came to think.

Maybe Leo was right about her judging too unfairly. Maybe Jazlyn was right and she should meet her mother and aunts. (Just because the adults argue behind closed doors doesn't mean the children don't know, and Nixie was well aware of this bone of contention between her father and her aunt.) Maybe...

Maybe she didn't have a choice. Nixie sighed, thinking back to June, and the incident at the Ministry. She'd killed a man that night, throwing an energy ball at him and incinerating him. The man had been a Death Eater, about to kill one of her friends, and yet... But she'd killed before with energy balls, even if her previous targets had been demons. What had shaken her even more was the other thing that had happened.

_She saw Sirius sent flying back by Bellatrix Lestrange's Stupefy, and all she could think about was Jazlyn and Alex, how they'd only had Sirius back for two years, and then infrequently. But to lose him like this... And something snapped in the back of her mind, she could hear the crack reverberate through her skull, and some force seemed to leave her eyes and hit Sirius, sending him careening over the Veil rather than through it. And she knew. The magic, the witch magic she'd held back for so long, was back._

And now, Nixie was forced to admit that the magic wouldn't be contained again. She'd stopped when she was five, not because her father had yelled and been angry, but because even to a little girl, the fear behind the fury had been crystal clear. She had denied herself and the only tie to a large chunk of her heritage. And she didn't mean the power. She meant the woman she'd dreamed of, a woman she knew was somehow real.

"What do I do?" she whispered, gesturing with her hand. A few small rocks floated into the air.

"You practice, and you keep on going. I told you it would happen eventually." The voice was her dream teacher, but... Nixie stood slowly and revolved on the spot, coming face to face with a woman. She was translucent, with long black hair and serious gray eyes. Nixie remembered her as tall, but now Nixie herself was slightly taller.

"You're real. I always knew it..." she whispered.

"Yeah."

"You never told me your name, either."

"You don't know? Not now, after all of Patty's stories?"

And her suspicions were confirmed. Deep down, she supposed she'd always known they were related, but now it was beyond denial. And she smiled. She'd known one member of the Halliwell family long ago, it seemed.

"You're my aunt. Prue."

"Yeah, I am. And now it's time to get back to work, kid."

A/N: Well, R&R! Next chapter, we focus on the students of Hogwarts through faculty changes, Hogsmeade, and the return of the D.A.


End file.
